MEPs voted almost unanimously in a committee on Tuesday (13 September) in favour of a risk-based approach to registering substances.

Deputies in the internal market committee backed a compromise presented by German Christian Democrat Hartmut Nassauer that would extend the risk-based assessment of any chemicals produced or imported in the EU in volumes of 10-100 tonnes.

This would require companies to give basic information on the potential risk of a chemical and then more information depending on the risk. Environmental and health campaigners, who had been pushing for the Commission’s original proposal to demand in-depth information on all chemicals, condemned the vote.

Nassauer said that the risk-based approach was gaining acceptance and stressed that a change in the German government could strengthen this position in the Council of Ministers.

MEPs also backed a report by Swedish Liberal Lena Ek in the industry committee, which would make chemicals companies responsible for informing their supply chain about their chemicals under a ‘duty of care’ principle.

Ek criticised the German chemical industry’s lobbying and called on the environment committee, which will vote on 4-5 October on a final report drafted by Italian Socialist Guido Sacconi, to reject the risk-based approach.

A plenary vote is expected on 25 October or 15 November, following which competitiveness ministers will try to reach a political agreement on 29 November.